The Hill News

President Obama spoke late Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. 



The White House said Obama reiterated the U.S.'s full support for Japan as it seeks to avoid a catastrophic nuclear meltdown after last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

Obama briefed the prime minister on the latest military and nuclear experts the U.S. is sending to Japan to help, and Kan thanked the president for the U.S. assistance. 



Efforts to cool the overheating, badly damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant continued Thursday as Japanese military helicopters dumped water onto the complex to help prevent increased radiation releases, according to media reports.

Although the U.S. and Japan have been coordinating closely on the nuclear reactor issue, they are not in sync. In a White House briefing earlier Wednesday, Press Secretary Jay Carney said the U.S. is urging people within 50 miles of the stricken ! plant to evacuate. The Japanese government has said those within 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, to evacuate.